Nikon 70-200 mm AF-S, VR Review

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

User Experience

My main reason for purchasing the lens was for the addition of AFS giving me consistent control of focus with all three of my zoom lenses.

When I'm taking photographs I want as few distractions as possible so I can concentrate on the most important aspects of timing, positioning and composition; not thinking about camera controls.

A consistent method of focussing with all my lenses means I'm not going to risk losing an opportunity while I struggle to switch from MF to AF.

I'm very fortunate that my hand holding ideally suits the proportions of the 70-200's design - the focus and zoom rings fall very conveniently to hand and I find combining zooming, manual focus and auto-focusing very convenient (although I don't think it will ever match the single ring design in terms of intuitiveness).

One of my big dislikes about this lens is the lack of an aperture ring (in common with all Nikon's recent "G" lenses). Not only do I prefer to be able to control aperture using a ring around the lens collar but this also breaks the consistency of my other AFS lenses, meaning that having solved the issue of focus continuity I've had to compromise this aspect of lens control. When I was considering this lens I looked at getting an 80-200 AFS so that I could maintain my familiar control of aperture through a ring but the 80-200 AFS was at the time only available secondhand and so close in price to a new 70-200 that this wasn't sensible.

Generously proportioned focus and zoom rings result in great ergonomics

Rear view 80-200 AF ED on the left complete with aperture ring and the 70-200 on the right sadly lacking an aperture ring

With hindsight the slimmed down ergonomics, design and build improvements and addition of VR more than compensate for the loss of the aperture ring when compared with the 80-200 AFS, but it's still a consideration that may be important to some, especially if you can find a good second-hand one. The narrower girth of this design compared to the 80-200 AFS lens doesn't feel bulky when hand holding, despite it's considerable length.

The lens features a detachable mounting foot that locates very securely into the the tripod collar. This is superbly well engineered although the release lever that has to be depressed to remove the foot is a rather clunky design - still, perhaps simple is best.

The tripod collar is very smooth in its rotation and allows for great control. I typically use the lens hand held so this is not a feature that I'm greatly interested in. One of the first things I did when I received the lens was rotate the collar ninety degrees (clockwise from the front) so that the large fastening screw no longer dug into my hand when hand holding the lens - I highly recommend this, otherwise hand holding is very uncomfortable.

Once attached the tripod mounting foot is very secure. The design makes it very easy to mount and dismount from the lens

Nikon's detachable tripod mount - a well engineered addition that works ingeniously

Focussing

For my style of working, fast AF is a great asset but effective manual focus is also a critical consideration. I've found the 70-200 fantastic in this respect. Manual focus is, as with any AFS lens, instantly accessible by rotating the front focus ring and allows very precise control of focus. The resistance of the focus ring is slightly slacker on my lens than the zoom ring and in use I find it perfectly weighted to allow precise control.

The focus ring has a flanged contour and is very wide, improving ergonomics. The flange in the focusing ring also makes it unmistakable from the zoom ring meaning that it's easy to find without taking your eye from the finder. With all the technology that Nikon have included in this lens it's commendable that they've not neglected these basics.

It's also worth pointing out that the close focussing distance of 1.5 m can be reduced by 10 cm when manually focussing to bring out a little more close focussing potential from the lens. Despite this close focus gain, the limit of 1.4m is not great for close up subjects. It's important to be aware of the close focus cut-off to prevent getting caught out, particularly when working close in with restrictions on space preventing you from backing up.

The wide maximum aperture means the viewfinder image is very bright and therefore aids accurate focussing. The focus ring shifts focus from near to infinity in just a third of a turn and the zoom range can be covered in only a quarter turn of the zoom ring barrel - this allows for a high level of control over focus and zoom without an unnecessarily large rotation of either ring.

Aperture ring issues

One of the unforeseen issues I've encountered as a result of losing the aperture ring is that now when controlling aperture by the camera's front control dial there's too many half stops to scroll through. This is a double edged sword because I quite like the control offered by controlling aperture in half steps, but there's so much scrolling to go from 2.8 to 22 that it can get rather tedious and because I'm not used to the half stop numbers I always have to look for the aperture I'm after. I'd rather be able to simply know how many notches to rotate the command dial to get to a given aperture, without taking my eye off the subject.

Given the advantage of being able to access the intermediate f-stops I'm trying to adjust my working style to suit - but I may soon reconfigure this control to allow aperture adjustment in full stops. Thankfully Nikon provide a means to adjust aperture by third, half or full exposure steps through the use of custom setting b3 on the D200.

Using the front control dial to change aperture also means I have to take my finger off the shutter release and potentially miss shots in the process. Switching the control of aperture to the rear dial doesn't provide me with a solution as I'm then prevented from accessing other controls with my thumbs - like the AF-ON button.

Lens hood release

There is one aspect of the lens that's not well designed in my opinion - the lens hood release. With the introduction of the 70-200 Nikon included a small locking release on the side of the lens hood - the purpose being to lock the hood in place preventing it from accidentally falling off during use. As you'll see on most of the images of the hood used in this review I initially mounted the hood with this release button on the left hand side of the lens. Unfortunately in this position when I put the camera and body into my backpack (with this catch facing downwards) the release will often have been triggered by the time I remove it and the hood will fall off as soon as I take the lens out of the bag.

The scalloped lens hood and locking lever that has given me problems when mounted on the left of the lens (as here), I'm now careful to mount the hood so this button lies on the right hand side. This image also shows the focus lock buttons, positioned too far toward the front to be of realistic use

Focus limit and VR controls that are difficult to use without looking

In all the years I've used Nikon's lens hoods prior to purchasing the 70-200 I've never once had a hood fall off. What makes this design particularly problematic is that with previous hoods the bayonet located into place with a secure click. With this hood there's less of a sturdy engagement - so if the locking lever does get accidently pressed there's little preventing the hood from rotating and falling off.

This fact alone is hardly going to constitute a reason not to purchase this otherwise excellent lens but it is a genuine annoyance. It's well worth taking care to make sure the locking lever is on the right hand (grip side) of the lens to prevent accidents.

Focus Lock Buttons

While I'm in a critical mood - as many have noted the focus lock buttons are positioned very far forward along the barrel - too far to fall conveniently to hand. This doesn't bother me since I don't use this feature.

Size Issues

The size of this lens means it's very difficult to be unobtrusive. Although I've never had any adverse reactions I can appreciate the potential for people to be intimidated by having this lens thrust at them - more than usual. It's well worth considering people's reactions and sensitivities before pointing this in their face.

Another important consideration with the purchase of this lens is the likely need for a new camera bag to carry it around in. I currently use a Lowepro Mini Trekker Classic to carry all my equipment in, but given the increased length of the 70-200 I've been struggling to configure the backpack in a way that allows me to carry all my kit regardless of which lens is mounted. I'll likely end up having to buy a bigger backpack to give me this flexibility.

Due to its physical size it's a good idea to make sure when panning that there's plenty of room. I've come close on more than one occasion to hitting people around me when planning or following a moving subject with the lens thanks to not appreciating quite how long the barrel is. This is a particular issue at events when seated in a stand with other people around you.

Turn Off

When mounting and dismounting the lens the camera should be turned off. It's also important not to turn the camera off while VR is active. If this happens then Nikon claim the VR system may make a chattering noise when shaken. The one time I've been caught out in this way with my D200 was when I'd shot a long motor driven sequence, failing to notice that the buffer was full before trying to turn it off, with the result that the camera was still active when I thought it was off. Despite this one-off error my lens has gone on functioning perfectly.

Flash

I have been using an SB 800 Speedlight with this lens to provide useful fill-in. The output of the SB 800 has been adequate but it's well worth checking the resulting images to make sure that the Speedlight's output has been sufficient - especially if shooting a sequence as the output is likely to drain the flash and recycle time can be insufficient to keep pace with a burst of shots. In the handbook for the lens Nikon advises checking flash pictures (made with a camera's built-in flash) for a shadow cast in the bottom of the image -it may also be a good idea to do this with camera mounted Speedlights. However this is not something I've ever encountered on a DX sensor even at the 70 mm end and with the hood mounted. Although for anyone using a Nikon body with film or an FX sensor this may be an issue worth checking - a few test shots will soon indicate at what focal length this becomes an issue.

Minor Criticism

One improvement of the design that would be helpful is the inclusion of directional arrows on the tripod collar and mounting foot release knobs to indicate which way to turn them to release (the same as Nikon include on their lens caps), this would save over-tightening them in the wrong direction by mistake.